No quiet desperation at Thoreau's 200th birthday observance

CONCORD, Mass. (AP) -- The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. The rest are observing the 200th birthday of Henry David Thoreau, the author who penned that line.

The U.S. Postal Service is marking the occasion Wednesday with a new postage stamp honoring the "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" writer, philosopher and naturalist.

Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1817.

Concord Postmaster Ray White and officials from the Thoreau Farm and Birthplace will be on hand to dedicate the stamp. They say it's in tribute to Thoreau's "personal example of simple living, his criticism of materialism and the timeless questions he raises about the place of the individual in society."

Fans will gather at Walden Pond, where Thoreau lived and worked, to read aloud from "Walden" and other classics.

Still no Rey in Star Wars Monopoly

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Eighteen months after game-maker Hasbro promised to add the female character to the game by the fall of 2016, the Illinois girl who wrote to them to say "girls matter" is still waiting.

After inquiries from The Associated Press this week, Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Hasbro said it made the piece, but sets with Rey were not available for sale in the U.S. People who bought the all-male game can request a Rey from customer service, spokeswoman Julie Duffy said Wednesday.

"In early 2016, Hasbro updated the 2015 Star Wars: Monopoly game to add a Rey token. This product was sold to retailers in several markets around the world, but is not available for sale in the U.S. due to insufficient interest," Duffy wrote in an email.

Hasbro said it would add a Rey character in January 2016, amid an online outcry that carried the hashtag #WheresRey.

"We love the passion fans have for Rey, and are happy to announce that we will be making a running change to include her in the Monopoly: Star Wars game available later this year," Duffy told the AP in an emailed statement at the time. She added that fans who had already purchased the game "can obtain the Rey token by contacting Hasbro Consumer Care when the updated game becomes available later this year."

Carrie Goldman, of Evanston, Illinois, whose daughter, Annie Rose, wrote the letter that sparked the outcry, said on Wednesday that while she is happy her daughter will be able to get a Rey figure, it's not exactly how they understood Hasbro's promise.

"I don't know if I would call this a running change," Goldman said. "I would still like to see it where any girl or boy or person who goes to buy the game, Rey is in there. I think that is what we had all understood how it was going to work."

Goldman posted Annie Rose's letter on Twitter in January 2016. In it, the then-8-year-old girl asks why Hasbro left out Rey from the set based on "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" when she is a main character and crucial to the story. All four game pieces were modeled on male characters: Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Finn and Kylo Ren.

"Without her THERE IS NO FORCE AWAKENS! It awakens in her! And without her, the bad guys would have won! Besides, boys and girls need to see that women can be as strong as men!" wrote Annie Rose, who is now 10. "Girls matter!"